VERNON – As we continue to learn more about the mass murder that took place in Edmonton, for some, that case is bringing up memories of another mass murder, this one in the Okanagan. It has been almost two decades since nine people were killed in a Vernon home. It was April 1996 when nine members of the Gakhal and Saran families were murdered. The gunman was the estranged husband of Rajwar Gakhal, one of the victims.
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Her cousin is now reacting to the news out of Alberta.
“I think this is where government, politicians and even as a society we need to collaborate and start encouraging victims to come out and tell them it is okay to ask for help,” says Riminder Gakhal.
A spokesperson for the Vernon Women’s Transition House Society agrees that more action is needed to tackle domestic violence.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t surprised,” says residential programs manager Monica Martin referring to the recent events in Alberta. “We are just not getting the resources and the funding for our prevention programs that we need.”
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